At the Movies | ‘Batman v. Superman,’ ‘Greek Wedding 2,’ equally as entertaining

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice ***

This epic showdown between superhero and guy with expensive toys, has its roots in the 2013 Man of Steel movie starring Henry Cavill, where Superman’s battle with Zod lays waste to much of Metropolis. Two years on the unlimited superpowers of the red-caped superhero have people nervous, including Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), which is part of the motivation for the ultimate battle at movie’s end. A weak premise, and Batman cast as a raging a-hole, along with the studio’s preoccupation with setting up sequels, are this movie’s greatest failures. Jesse Eisenberg, miscast as a young Lex Luther, is annoying at best, and less than menacing at his worst. Still this movie is a marvel (sorry D.C. Comics) of production and crisp 3D, and looks every bit as expensive as its $250 million budget might suggest it should. Those who early on decried Affleck as the one chosen to portray the next Batman were misguided as his performance was solid, as was Cavill’s. Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune, Die Hard), as Alfred, and Holly Hunter as Kentucky Senator June Finch also turn in strong performances. This is an entertaining spectacle well worth seeing with a convincing cast that like so many movies before it, and still yet to come, sadly missed its potential for greatness.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 ***

In the original 2002 indie hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, we’re introduced to the Portokalos family, one living in suburban Chicago, and overly proud of its Greek heritage. Nearly all of the original cast reprise their roles, with the addition of the 17-year-old, college-bound daughter of waspy Ian (John Corbett) and the very Greek Toula (Nia Vardalos), the couple at the center of all the family drama. In the sequel, the focus switches to Toula’s parents who discover their wedding license is null and void, thus requiring a new big fat Greek wedding. While not as original (how could it be?) and therefore as charming as the first, the sweetness of a family bonding through adversity along with the same kind of fish-out-of-water humor, is firmly revisited, and is a welcome, wholesome addition to the big screen, with plenty of laughs.

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 1:00 AM with the headline "At the Movies | ‘Batman v. Superman,’ ‘Greek Wedding 2,’ equally as entertaining."